Free Tarnished Angel by Elaine Barbieri Page B

voice in the back of his mind drummed with the familiar rhythm of his passion, Enjoy… enjoy… enjoy… Yes, he would enjoy enjoy his Oriental flower. He would savor the nectar of his magnificent blossom… and yes, he would, for a time, cast aside all thought of the pain its thorns could inflict.
        In the hallway outside her daughter's bedroom door, China Mary's short, broad figure paused. She listened in silence to the sound of her daughter's cooing voice. She knew that tone well, and a bitter smile crossed her lips.
        Lily, the daughter for whom she lived, had sacrificed her innocence. The she had informed her mother that she had accepted her fatebut only temporarily, and not without malice.
        China Mary knew the game her daughter was so artfully playing. Lily was committed to making Harvey Dale her slave. From the sounds presently emanating from within, she was certain Lily was making her anger felt at being summoned like the servant Harvey Dale wished to make of her.
        China Mary paused in her thoughts. More soundsthis time Harvey Dale's voice, low in supplication. He was pleading! Lily had accomplished that which her mother had yet been unable to do. But the flush of triumph was brief, for the game was not yet over.
        China Mary took a deep breath and turned away from the bedroom door. It would not do to torture herself. Better to turn her thoughts to other, more promising matters.
        So, Harvey Dale needed a woman to serve as his daughter's   maid and companion. She knew of a woman who was suited to the position, but before she sent her to Harvey Dale, she would make very certain that the woman remembered where her first loyalties lay.
        A hard smile flicked across Mary's lips. She descended the staircase before her, squeezing her bulk around its curves, and stepped down on the first floor once more. Raising her hand, she snapped her fingers. Her eyes glittered as a gray-bearded Oriental responded to her summons.
        "Ming Keng , summon Lai Hua to me immediately."
        With a short nod, Ming Keng turned. Within seconds the slight old man was moving down the street to her command. Following his progress with a keen eye until he disappeared from sight, China Mary took another deep, steadying breath. The small smile that finally curved her lips was inspired by neither joy nor amusement.
         Yes, Harvey Dale, your arrogance and your contempt will be your undoing. You will see, Harvey Dale, you will see …
        
    Chapter IV
      Jake Walsh shifted on the hard ground but continued to watch the Dale residence, as Ross had done the day before. Unconsciously brushing an insect off his shirtsleeve, he grimaced at the unrelenting heat of morning and extended his arm to grasp the spyglass lying beside him. His grimace turned into a full-fledged frown. As he had countless times since he had arrived on the hillside outside Tombstone at dawn, he raised the glass to his eye and muttered a low curse under his breath.
        Damn Ross and his schemes! He had taken over the job of watching the Dale household for a day at Ross's request, but he wasn't cut out to be a watchdog, or anything close to it. If Ross was so interested in Devina Dale's comings and goings, he would have to watch her himself after this.
        Jake gave a low snort as his intense scrutiny revealed nothing more than a large woman emerging from the back door to dump rubbish into a bin in the yard.
        Disgusted, Jake lowered the spyglass to the ground beside him. He took off his hat and ran his hand impatiently through his light, sun-streaked hair. His fair complexion felt flushed, and he wiped the perspiration from his brow with the back of his arm. He didn't like the way things were going. He didn't like it at all.
        Damn, he had never seen Ross so intense, so completely wrapped up in his thoughts. He hadn't been the same since he'd found out the blonde on the coach was Devina